This list of Delta Force members includes both current and former notable members of the United States Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, a tier one special mission unit and part of Joint Special Operations Command. Since he was tried by the military, a branch of the federal government, the double-jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution would not bar the state from prosecuting him all over again. Sketchy-looking, Scanlon describes it, comparing it to a rundown CrossFit gym, with a roll-up garage door, by a railroad track and a junkyard.. You get everyone in for a forensic interview, get emails, social media and everything else in the next 48 hours. A third juror asked the nurse who did the rape kit, In your experience, is it abnormal for the victim to smile in an exam photo?, Scanlon was called in for the reading of the verdict. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. The memorandum from 1st Special Forces Command written by an investigating officer appointed by the command, concluded that Lavigne was not credible. It was a fundraiser to honor five slain Green Berets, hosted by some SF guys, Tina texted. Poppe says he cant recall the substance of Lavignes testimony, but discloses that after the court-martial concluded, he took him on as a client, too. Fort Bragg deaths of Special Forces soldier, veteran remain unsolved A Delta Force operator known to be good friends with both Lavigne and Leshikar was allegedly the first person Lavigne called as things deteriorated with Leshikar the day he died. William J. Lavigne Wiki - William J. Lavigne Biography The trial began on a Monday morning. She only met him and Vallejo that one night in her life. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, Vallejo, dressed in camouflage cargo shorts and a T-shirt, was tall, lean, strong, and fiercely handsome, with a black beard and shaggy brown hair much longer than most soldiers get to wear. Scanlon began to cry, he wrote in his report, as she pointed out the building., Matrafailo obtained a warrant, took DNA samples from the hood of the Saab, reviewed security footage, visited Macs, and interviewed Tina, among other witnesses. . At the time Lavignes path crossed Scanlons, his cocaine habit was firmly established, but he remained a team member in good standing on Delta Force, and still had a clean arrest record in Cumberland County. She has photos to prove that she knew them. As of 2010, the document shows, he was a TEAM MEMBER/OPERATOR in the organization demarcated 1ST SFOD-D (DELTA FORCE)., Like SEAL Team 6, its sister unit and only military peer, Delta Force is whats known as a Special Mission Unit. They would have been able to see from the many badges, patches, stripes, and braids on Vallejos embroidered blue coat that he was a military superstar, a veteran operator of the sort that all of USASOC exists to support. in the Army to go. ICYMI episode: The slaying of Special Forces soldier Mark Leshikar In Dumas' case, he had a Dec. 17 court date in. Delta Force Member and Veteran Found Dead at Ft. Bragg I remember hearing some shots. The case is being investigated as a homicide, a spokesperson for Army Criminal Investigations Division told Connecting Vets. Scanlon says reporting the alleged attack, and the subsequent ordeal, hurt her military career. The record states Dumas yelled police open the door after knocking. This would have been in violation of regulations that prevent the military from excluding crime victims from the trials of their alleged perpetrators, and USASOC says it didnt happen. He was investigated in 2018 after fatally shooting his friend, Sgt. He was host of the event at Macs that night. Anecdote, family member was [redacted] group, got recruited to Delta, turned them down. The Fort Bragg Murders - Rolling Stone This was 37-year-old William Lavigne III, a Master Sergeant and former 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (aka Delta Force) soldier. This industrially zoned property, which Vallejo rented from a chemical company, is cut off from any obvious street access, being surrounded on all three sides by train tracks, storage buildings, and scrap yards. He had entered a plea of not guilty. Im not a police officer. Editors picks Shortly after she and Tina arrived at Macs the night of the fundraiser, Scanlon recognized the Coast x Coast clubs logo from a Facebook photo of her old ROTC mentor, the ex-Delta soldier, which made her implicitly trust Vallejo and his crew, she recalls. LaVigne also was involved in other Cumberland County cases that never resulted in charges, records show. William told me that my brother had a screw driver but nothing was found at the scene, Leshikar's sister told Connecting Vets. As Rolling Stone reported in a previous piece, "The Fort Bragg Murders," in March 2018 right around the time that military prosecutors took control of Vallejo's trial Lavigne shot and killed a Green Beret in the living room of his house in Fayetteville without suffering the slightest legal consequences.". William Lavigne III, 37, on Dec. 1-2. In February, the FBI announced that it is assisting in the case. Other than that, he says, I dont think youre going to get any comment from anybody around here.. Vallejo is a notable exception. Part of Audacy. DELTA FORCE' S DIRTY SECRET - PressReader They would have these epic parties, tailgate pool parties, where they would put a liner in the back of a truck and fill it up with water. On one occasion, they hired midget wrestlers to come out, she says. William J. Lavigne II and Timothy Dumas, a veteran previously stationed at the post, were found dead at a training site on the base Wednesday afternoon. Taught the SF Q course for a bit, met an amazing woman through non army friends, decided one purple heart was enough, retired E7 (offered E8 to stay in). That little girl will never ever forget what she witnessed, he said. The Special Forces of the U.S. Army are based out of Fort Bragg, as is the powerful and secretive Joint Special Operations Command, making this spot, inland of the Eastern Seaboard, the central. But he was in JAG for 20 years and has represented such high-profile military clients as Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, and is unable to recall another time when a JSOC operator was arrested for a violent felony against a fellow soldier on U.S. soil, as was the case for both Lavigne and Vallejo. Even with the rape kit and the testimony of witnesses like Tina, much would have hinged on Scanlons credibility. He says Lavigne smoked crack, that was his main thing. Dumas, an ex-soldier with a shady past, was found murdered along with Lavigne in the woods outside Fayetteville in December 2020. They said Lavigne's harboring a fugitive felony charge could be used to kick him out of Special Forces and discharge him from the military. Additionally, Lavigne never stated or implied that he moved the screw driver or any weapon after shooting SFC Leshikar.. None are able to say why the shooting took place, but they all remember Lavigne. William Lavigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44, were both found dead in a training area at Fort Bragg on December 2 It has now been revealed that both men were facing. Vallejo was briefly detained in jail on a $100,000 bond. Now she demands answers, Illustration by Mike McQuade for Rolling Stone, Former Army Capt. The sheriffs office and the DA had treated it as a justifiable homicide, and Army investigators would later come to the same conclusion, for reasons that both civilian and military authorities decline to disclose to the Leshikar family or to the public. He and Lavigne would talk and argue with one another like they were brothers, Leshikar's sister Nicole Rick recalled in an interview with Connecting Vets. She took him for a run-of-the-mill special-forces veteran, retired from the Army or otherwise discharged, because shed been taught that its against regulations for active-duty personnel to solicit donations for a military cause, and that was the whole point of the Coast x Coast Foundation. At one point the Green Berets widow, a red-haired woman, came around the corner and saw what was going on. He was a part of Leshikar's funeral service, she said. Lavigne was due in Cumberland County District Court next week in connection with a hit-and-run charge from last February, the newspaper reported. Bullet fragments were present underneath the carpet as well as in the kitchen and living room areas of the house. Whoever they are, they were capable of taking out one of the worlds most skilled and experienced gunfighters, without leaving any apparent clue for the FBI or CID to follow. Delta Force is the Army's special-mission unit for counterterrorism and hostage rescues. Officials have identified Master Sgt. Howell was unable to say what threats Dumas directed toward the victim but that there was enough evidence to charge him with the crimes. Master Sergeant. He gave me his card and invited us to go to the next bar with everyone., They exchanged phone numbers, and a group of about nine, led by Vallejo, relocated from Macs to a bar called Paddys, an over-the-top Irish pub out on Raeford Road that has a metal detector at the front entrance, bartenders in Scottish kilts, brass bathroom door handles cast with anatomical exactitude in the form of male genitalia, and urinals shaped like a womans mouth. Once people started getting drunk, they would bust it out, and drunk girls would try it and get all hornied up. There is no screw driver here, that is enough to go DEFCON 4 on this. After speaking with a chaplain, she met with her units SARC, or sexual-assault response coordinator, who took her to meet with agents from the bases Criminal Investigation Division. In this video, we explore the mysterious case of Green Beret Mark Leshikar and Delta Force Member William Lavigne and the sus. William J. Lavigne II and Timothy Dumas, a veteran previously stationed at the post, were found dead at a training site on the base Wednesday afternoon. "The shooter's own words bury his ass because there is no screw driver. That would have been enough, Poppe argues, to spook Scanlon into making a false accusation of rape, lest word get out and she be reprimanded for fraternization. Delta Force operator Lavigne had claimed that 33-year-old Leshikar, with whom he had been good friends, came at him with a screwdriver. Connecting Vets was provided screen shots of those charges and the court date. The adjacent alley was full of junked cars. She lives a very different life and has no contact with the elite soldiers who had been her colleagues, friends, and lovers for the better part of a decade. Fort Bragg officials announced that the Master Sgt. He was fatally shot in March 2018 by Army Delta Force member William J. Lavigne, his best friend, who was known as "Billy" to Leshikar's family. She understood that beyond a reasonable doubt was a high burden of proof, and evinced no particular desire to see Vallejo in prison. As a criminal profiler, Ciolino has investigated and exonerated death row inmates. An Uber driver started toward the warehouse at 2:50 a.m., according to screen shots of the app that Scanlon gave police. Foul play suspected in deaths of sergeant and veteran at Fort Bragg This is classic, let's cover it up. In local news reports, the shooter wasnt named. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. RIP, bro., One year later, the authorities have identified no suspects, arrested no perpetrators, and disclosed nothing about the evidence theyve gathered to date. He was charged with a felony for allegedly harboring an escapee. She told me, I feel like I just got raped.. Joseph Morman, Scanlon says. He just ambushed me, she says, repeating what she told Fayetteville police, according to the written report of the detective assigned to the case, Paul Matrafailo. William J. Lavigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas deepens with the revelation that Lavigne was also involved in the death of Sgt. Thats being a girl at a bar., According to text messages she sent a girlfriend the next day, Scanlon was drunk and flirted with him. But she didnt consent to what later ensued, she immediately added. There are a dozen-plus local-news hits under his Anglicized name, Cris Valley, and a simple Google search turns up numerous photos and videos of him. A news release from the FBI said investigators are looking to create a timeline of the locations and activities of Timothy Dumas Sr., 44, and Master Sgt. A Defense Department memorandum noted that Lavigne wasn't credible but Leshikar's death was in the line of duty, while the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office described it as "justifiable homicide." Leshikar's family has alleged evidence was tampered with and that Lavigne called another Delta Force Operator to come to the scene. Starting in 2019, victims who testify get a copy of the court-martial record, including audio, whether it was an acquittal or conviction.. Special Forces soldier, Army veteran found dead on Fort Bragg were shot Subsequently, the Army swapped out her SVC four separate times. Hes in JSOC.. Ms. He was addicted to Tramadol and self-medicated with . She Asked the Army to Investigate a Rape Trial. They Fired Her No more than 10 minutes after arriving, Scanlon sent a text message to a 25-year-old staff sergeant, another soldier at Fort Bragg, whom she occasionally hooked up with. The second man, whose name was not disclosed, was an army veteran previously stationed at the North Carolina military base. But Scanlon was in the courtroom on the first day of trial, and Rolling Stone obtained the trial record, which includes a list of witnesses, the lawyers written motions, the judges orders, his instructions to the jury, and other documents that make it possible to reconstruct much if not nearly enough of what happened. I knew about Mark's drugs, I knew about Billy's drugs, Leshikar's mother said. As I wrote in The Fort Bragg Murders, Lavignes dozen-plus deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere had left him addled with trauma and addicted to hard drugs and alcohol. They belonged to members of the Coast x Coast motorcycle club, made up of active-duty soldiers on Delta Force, a classified manhunting unit that is the Army component of JSOC. On March 21, 2018, at his Anhinga Drive home, LaVigne shot to death his friend, Army Sgt. The next morning, she told the guy she was dating at the time that his buddy had raped her, but he didnt believe her, she says. 2023 Audacy, Inc. All rights reserved. The Army couldnt give Scanlon a transcript because no transcript ever existed. Justice is a very elusive thing, it moves around like air. They might have noticed that the shooter was a witness for the alleged rapist, and that they both belonged to the same motorcycle club, made up of soldiers from the Armys most elite unit. Scanlon was looking forward to getting the ordeal over with. (U.S. Army) Like Lavigne, Dumas had ties to the Special. Army records show Dumas served in the Army as a property accounting technician from November 1996 to March 2016, separating as a chief warrant officer 3. The trial record shows that Vallejos defense called eight additional witnesses. As a result, she says, she had to retell her ordeal to five different SVCs, some of whom were unprepared or missed meetings. Over the course of twenty years and thousands of missions, he's fought desperately for his life, rescued hostages, killed and . The death certificates say the two men were found about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 2, in the woods on Fort Bragg. I was Billys attorney, Poppe says. Because I had been in for 18 months. Then, on Sept. 1, 2018, Lavigne was charged with felony harboring an escapee and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling to manufacture a controlled substance. For her part, Scanlon tried hard not to show any emotion in public, and accepted the jurys July 2018 decision with stoicism. I defaulted to what the USASOC prosecutor and the DA would decide, and consented to removal of the case to Fort Bragg, which resulted in an unanticipated four-month delay. . Finally, at the end of the first day of trial, she was allowed to step down. I was pissed that another obstacle had gone up, she says. Scanlon and Vallejo both continued to live in Fayetteville and work on Fort Bragg. But Castro cant say when that investigation began, why Scanlon felt that her initial complaint had been dismissed, or whether the recordings she mentioned still exist. I also recently reported on a very dark story, about a Delta Force operator named William Lavigne shot and killed his best friend, a Green Beret named Mark Leshikar. LaVigne was supposed to be in Cumberland County District Court on Jan. 15 for a Feb. 17, 2020, hit-and-run charge, court documents say. Sometimes it only happens because someone with a dog in the fight gets involved. Once out of uniform, Scanlon began to meet advocates, lawyers, and people knowledgeable about sexual assault in the military. A guy whos in Delta Force would not be flashing his name around and having a nonprofit and partying at a bar. Investigators are seeking to create a timeline of. After I gave my statement, the CID agents left the room. William LaVigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44. Training program helps transitioning service members build their VA careers, 2 US Army helicopters crash in Alaska, killing 3 soldiers, Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner tells Glennon Doyle she is 'afraid of her mental health', Half million PACT Act claims have been filed at VA as budget battle looms, Honoring survivors of military sexual trauma. So Leshikar's death remains in conflict. It took her months to get a military protective order against him. It is the last house in a quiet cul-de-sac on the backside of a neighborhood about 20 minutes away from Fort Bragg. Timothy Dumas, Sr. and Master Sergeant William Lavigne Iii Scanlon and Tina arrived at Macs shortly before 10 p.m. A number of motorcycles were parked out front. Special Forces Command decided he died in the line of duty, while the local sheriff's office ruled his death a justifiable homicide, all while Lavigne, continued his work with Delta Force. Looking back on the court-martial, it was a solid case and my testimony was powerful, Scanlon says, but I was this lowly lieutenant up against Delta Force and USASOC and JSOC, and all that entails. Parker says that Lavigne once gave him money to cover some court costs. A review of his uniform and decorations shows he was likely assigned to. 1LT Scanlon never told me that she remembered seeing a female the Green Berets red-haired widow who may have witnessed a portion of the alleged assault., It looked like Scanlon was lying, or at a minimum, misremembering what had happened. No unit patch. LaVigne and Dumas were each scheduled to appear in court on unrelated cases in December and January, according to court records. Lavigne and Sgt. William J. Lavigne II, 37, was found dead with another man at a training ground in Fort Bragg on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. No, Joe says. Its not even clear what agency, military or civilian, is investigating. He literally picked me up off the ground, and my shoes fell off., He set her on the flaking hood of a defunct Saab convertible that was sunk in tall weeds. The third was a superficial grazing wound across the left side of his neck, the bullet arching at a 45-degree downward angle, the bullet passing from back to front. Poppe couldnt recall why that was the case, but conceded that it was somewhat unusual for the main police witness in a criminal trial not to align with the prosecution. He came with us, rode the ride. They have zero remorse. She doesnt mean that any of the killings she witnessed were illegal or outside the rules of engagement. Her experience with the military-justice system illustrates the myriad difficulties faced by women in the overwhelmingly male armed forces who report being raped, and raises questions about the adequacy of the uniformed chain of command to protect the interests of victims of sex crimes allegedly committed by service members. He busted a few rounds in the direction of Ian Detar, an inveterate burglar who has no fewer than 29 mug shots on file with the county. Jane was once deployed to a country in Southwest Asia and was stationed on the same base as a contingent from Delta Force. Special Forces soldier found dead next to Army vet at Fort Bragg Seven soldiers face charges after Fort Bragg trooper's severed head found Did it disappear or melt? If you felt that 1LT Scanlon was sexually assaulted, why was she not taken to the hospital as soon as possible? another asked the staff sergeant. Erin Scanlon wants to go on the record again so that her alleged attacker is identified as Delta Force. The warehouse is three blocks from police headquarters, but a spokesman for the Fayetteville PD denies knowing anything about the place, and had no relevant incident reports pertaining to the address. His dad and I divorced when he was not even a year old so he kind of stepped into those shoes as the protector. As soon as they said not guilty, my people just kind of quickly escorted me out.. William Lavigne was the sixth witness for the defense, the trial rec-ord shows. Death certificates for Dumas and LaVigne state each died from gunshot wounds and were shot by an unknown assailant.. The only entrance is hard to find and closed off by a chain-link gate.

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